Antalya

The 5,000-year-old ceramic pieces that have been found during excavations in the ancient city of Myra in the southern province of Antalya's Demre district took the history of the ancient city 2,000 years back.

Since the start of the year, more than 6 million tourists have visited the province of Antalya, a major holiday destination on the Mediterranean coast.

Data from the local tourism authorities indicated that the number of tourist arrivals in the city between Jan.1 and Sept. 13 leaped 202 percent compared with the same period of last year.

Antalya, the heartland of Turkey's tourism industry, has hosted more than 5 million foreign tourists so far this year - up 253 percent year on year.

class='cf'>

Turkish-German joint venture SunExpress has served more than 3 million passengers so far in 2021, the airline said on Aug. 28

class='cf'>

Following a rocky period on aviation sector last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, "the total number of passengers carried by SunExpress jumped 43% year-on-year," it revealed in a statement.

The 28th International Aspendos Opera and Ballet Festival will be organized by the Culture and Tourism Ministry at the Aspendos Ancient Theater in Antalya between Sept. 4 and 12 and will open with the opera "Murat IV."

Turkey hosted 10.88 million foreign visitors in the first seven months of 2021, the country's Culture and Tourism Ministry said on Aug. 23. 

class='cf'>

While climbing 85.44% year-on-year, the figure fell by 78% versus the same period in 2019 before the eruption of coronavirus pandemic dealt a major blow to international travel, showed the official data.

The number tourists arriving in Antalya, one of Turkey's hottest holiday destinations on the Mediterranean coast, has exceeded 4.3 million since the start of the year.

Officials in southern Antalya province's İbradı district have left tonnes of grains and hays over the plains for "Yılkı" horses after the animals traveled to the location following the devastating forest fires of last week. (AA Photo)

Turkey has brought under control all forest fires, except blazes in Milas and Köyceğiz in the country's south, said the minister of agriculture and forestry on Aug. 9. 

class='cf'>

"#ForestHeroes continue their work with great devotion from land and air in Milas and Köyceğiz," Bekir Pakdemirli said on Twitter.

It took 218 hours of firefighting at full pace to contain forest fires in Antalya's Manavgat and Gündoğmuş districts, Turkey's foreign minister said on Aug. 6. 

class='cf'>